Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog: #29: Running or Robbery?, Camcorder Fails, Stuffing Dreams, etc.

1. I saw a woman running one afternoon this week. She was definitely a unique runner. She was dressed appropriately, with a t-shirt, shorts, and even some K-tape around her right knee. Okay so far. Then I noticed she was wearing a neck brace, and also carrying a brown paper bag in her right arm. Was she running? Or running away from a place that she just robbed?

2. Is it just me, or is the process of streaming starting to look an awful lot like cable television? With cable, you’ve got certain shows and movies on certain networks. On streaming it is getting more like that. This means that just like you do with cable you need more channels/platforms to see all you want to see. It’s like entertainment companies found another way to keep the ‘cord cutters’ paying through the nose.

3. There are numerous times I feel like I made a wish to be a writer on a Monkey’s Paw. In short, a Monkey's Paw refers to making a wish where it comes true but with some unforeseen circumstances. For me, my portfolio as a writer on its own is pretty good. Pretty good meaning I accomplish just enough to keep me chasing this dream, but not enough for me to fulfill the dream. Not saying I’m thinking of giving up, more that I am aware of the chase I’ve been on oh these last many years.

Me, wishing to be a successful writer/content creator.

4. I’ve been brainstorming the idea of turning this blog into a shorter video podcast. I finally broke down and bought a vlogging camcorder. I figured that would be a good place to start. The problem? Nearly all of these vlogging camcorders look identical yet have different accessories. I ended up ordering one I thought was close enough to what I wanted. However either I clicked on the wrong product or Amazon just said ‘They all look the same he won’t know,’ and sent me a different one. It didn’t have a microphone or battery charger. Plus when I checked my order this particular camera had a 2-star average review, the one I wanted was a 4.6 average. It has already been sent back.

5. I notice that every time I type in ‘food coma’ into my phone it wants to correct to ‘good coma.’ I guess if there is a such thing as a good coma it would be one caused by eating too much delicious food.

Food coma, good coma, it's all the same.

6. Waiting on UPS to pick up a package to return is very similar to the old days of waiting for the cable guy to show up. ‘Oh sure we’ll be there today between 7a and 5p better make sure you clear your schedule because we’ll knock quietly once and then run back to the truck.’ I was afraid to even go downstairs to check the laundry for too long just in case those 30 seconds were when the driver pulled up.

7. At the grocery store I was walking down an aisle and there were 3 teenage boys buying soda. One of them turned to me and told me how much he liked my shirt. I was wearing a plain black t-shirt so I thought he was being a smart ass which was fine I was a kid once too. Only when I passed by them again did I see he was also wearing a plain black T-shirt. There was no big ‘bro out’ but I did give him a nod of approval which is just as good.

8. Sad that this had to be said but to those who work in ICU at the hospital try to be nice to the people coming to visit their sick/injured loved ones. I get that it must be a tough job but nobody goes to ICU for a fun day. Yelling at me and my cousin while we chatted briefly in the entranceway was not called for. She and I were comparing notes about her very sick father (my uncle) and were essentially trading shifts of sitting with him. I wanted badly to say something to this rude woman but it wouldn’t have helped anything so I just left without saying anything.

9. I have to ask why do they not make Stove Top stuffing microwave cups? Rice A Roni has them, and Velveeta Shells and Cheese has them. It makes sense to do Stove Top next. Granted it’s not hard to make stuffing by just heating water but that’s beside the point. Also, I think if they did come out with a microwave Stove Top I’d balloon out like a whale with cups of stuffing, rice, and mac and cheese surrounding my easy chair.

10. I have been practicing French using Duolingo for probably a little over 2 months. I took French for 4 years in school and wondered how much of the language might come back. I can say honestly that reading, repeating, and writing French has all come back to where I feel pretty smart. However, actually speaking it is different. Not like I have any reason to speak French in my daily life but when I’m out I try to imagine conversations in my head and it’s tough. Does anyone out there who speaks, or is trying to learn, a second language have the same issue?

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog - #25: Squeaky Wheel, Soupy Air, Deja BBQ, etc

1. It usually pays to be a squeaky wheel. I placed an order a few weeks back for some books for an event I am speaking at on July 19^th. Everything was good on my end with the person at the publisher confirming my order. The only thing was I didn’t get any sort of receipt email or shipping confirmation. I reached out after the 4^th of July weekend just to be safe and sure enough, the person at the publisher had never even placed the order. Nice. That person was even away on vacation so if I had waited I’d never have gotten my books. Instead of pitching a fit I just thanked the new person who helped me, lest they get mad and then not place my order, again.

2. On Cape Cod it finally made it to the overwhelming heat and humidity that summer is known for this week. Wanting to keep on my running comeback trail I met a friend to do some evening running around a school track. It was so soupy that I felt like I had just gone swimming in my clothes. We also had done a lap around a neighboring cemetery, which was appropriate because I was so beat after that run that I could have just picked an open spot and dug myself a bed there.

3. So in a fitting bit of insanity I was at the grocery store and couldn’t for the life of me remember if I had any BBQ sauce at home. I thought I didn’t so I grabbed a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s. I got home and not only did I have BBQ sauce but it was Sweet Baby Ray’s down to the exact flavor, Sweet & Smokey. I am a creature of habit even when my mind is blank.

Maybe I have too many of the same BBQ sauce?

4. While on a bike trail run in the afternoon, I came to a road crossing. Coming out of a parking lot was a friend’s father. Not taking into account how I looked or sounded I just started yelling at him and waving. Now, he might not have heard me, or more likely he thought I was a wacko looking to carjack him. Or possibly his dog told him to floor it to get away from me.

5. For the last month or so I’ve been using Duolingo trying to relearn French. I took it for 4 years in school and was curious about what my brain retained even though it had been almost 30 years since I last studied it. Surprisingly more of the French came back than I expected. Granted I’m only into the 5^th unit of study but it’s almost like muscle memory except using your actual memory. Je suis impressionné!

6. One of the most annoying things while driving is when you stop to let a car pull out and then the car behind them comes barreling out too. Talk about entitled people. I let one car out at an intersection and then pulled forward to make my left turn when the car behind the one that pulled out began turning right into me. Luckily they actually looked at the last second and didn’t t-bone me. The looks on their faces plus their stupid vanity license plate confirmed their ‘entitled’ status.

7. I read this week that the current stretch of humidity, at least on Cape Cod, is the worst it has ever been for July. We are currently setting a record for most consecutive hours of the dew point above 72 degrees. By the time it(hopefully) gets drier late next week we will likely pass 260 straight hours of the soupiest air I’ve felt in my life. I like summer but am already looking forward to the crisp fall weather.

8. A true mark of my selective laziness is that my mother gifted me a nice new bedding set, sheets, pillow cases. She said I should wash them before putting them on my bed. I waited 2 days with the intention of not washing them and just using them. I mean how dirty could they be in a sealed package after all? I did relent though and threw them in the washer. At least now I won’t have to lie when she asks me if I did. I never could lie to my mother which I guess is a good trait.

9. Fun Fact: For most of my life I thought that the occupation known as a Notary Public was actually a Noted Republic. Misheard song lyrics, misheard job titles, it’s all the same. In case you were not sure of what it was A Notary Public is an official appointed by a state government to serve the public as an impartial witness during notarizations. I may or may not have had to look that up to make sure I was right.

10. There are summer days on Cape Cod where I don’t want to go to the gym because it’s packed like sardines in there and I’d rather be outside in the warm weather. There are summer days on Cape Cod where I don’t want to be outside driving because it’s packed like sardines on the roads and I worry about bad drivers. Then some days are both and I think it would be best to hibernate until Labor Day.

11. I am lucky that I live close enough to the Cape Cod Rail Trail that I can run it pretty much whenever I want. Over the years they have slowly expanded it west. It used to end suddenly at a random road after going through a golf course. In the last year they have continued expanding from there. It’s been little bits, a hundred feet here, hundred feet there. So in order to keep my designation of running every step of the CCRT I have to run to the new end each time it gets expanded. In total it’s been extended about 1,400 feet and I’ll be there when it goes to 1,500.

The new 'end of the line' on the bike trail